The insidious perfidiousness of doubts, overcome

There isn’t a single one of us who has overcome the human condition of self doubt. Whether you’re a supremely confident person, a content Zen monk, a successful writer … it doesn’t matter. You have doubts about yourself.

The question is whether these doubts stop you from doing amazing things, from leading the life you want to lead.

I was one of those people who toiled for long years under various masters — kind and unkind — because I doubted my ability to be my own boss. I doubted whether I was a good enough writer to succeed in a world of immensely talented writers.

These doubts weren’t overwhelming, but that’s the sneaky thing about them. They aren’t in your face — they creep into your subconscious so that you don’t realize they’re there, tugging at you, wearing at you, grinding you to a stop. They lurk in the dark, extending an influence so pervasive that it seems a part of the fabric of our being, even if it’s only a corroded thread that’s snaked itself into that fabric.